ANMC’s new Outpatient Surgery Center improves access to surgical care
August 14, 2015Categories:
Built in 1997, the ANMC hospital is now 17 years old and experiencing some expected growing pains for the increased number of our people that we serve. As our population grows and the need for services increases, our facility has not kept up with the surgical needs of our patients. This prompted the decision by ANTHC and ANMC leadership to expand services to a new surgery center close to the ANMC campus. Later this month, the ANMC Outpatient Surgery Center will open in a nearby medical building located at 3801 University Lake Drive, a short distance north on Elmore Road from ANMC. The surgery center will be located on the first floor of the same building that the ANMC ENT, Audiology and Ophthalmology Clinic moved to last fall. We expect to be there for the next five years. “We have expanded elective surgeries to nights and weekends and we still need more capacity,” said Dr. Paul Franke, ANMC Chief Medical Officer. “Having four additional operating rooms will improve access to surgical procedures for our people.” ANMC performs more than 14,000 surgical procedures annually. Our current operating rooms (ORs) are being utilized to their capacity and growth of surgical services is expected to continue. In addition to the four new ORs in the Outpatient Surgery Center, we are adding 17 pre-and post-operation beds at the new center for our surgery patients. Another addition to the ANMC medical building on University Lake Drive is a small pharmacy, serving surgery and ENT, ophthalmology and audiology patients. ANTHC’s Strategic Access team is in the process of making tenant improvements to the new surgery center and preparing the space for our patients.